Reader Tom Carrolan photographed this snowy owl sitting on a pole off Shortcut Road in Meridian in January. Send this photo to a friend

Tom wrote me: "Nice pict from Wolfe Island in Sunday's paper. [I was out there a month ago for hawks and snowies]. Been over to Amherst Island recently, too. There was, of course, a snowy at the airport as reported at syracuse.com last week.

But the most consistent bird[s] has been an individual all winter over in Meridian... just 10 miles from B'ville, out 370.

A late afternoon trek to Meridian offered more than "just" a snowy owl sighting. Upon arrival, an adult snowy owl was perched on a fence post along Short Cut Rd. After watching for a few minutes, another snowy, a juvenile, flew in to replace the adult, followed closely by a
rough-legged hawk. The juvenile snowy claimed the perch, while the rough-legged hawk left in pursuit of the adult snowy owl. A few minutes later, a THIRD snowy owl was noted in the distance, perched on top of a telephone pole along Chase Rd., which runs perpendicular to
Short Cut Road. Just before leaving the the site where the juvenile snowy (2nd owl) was still perched, a sharp-shinned hawk was observed perched in a small tree. A second sharpie soon flew in. The two engaged in a brief, mid-air tussle, and soon were gone.
What a magnificent afternoon!